It's not quite Evo or The International, but today British video game retailer GAME has taken its first tentative steps into the eSports scene. The company is holding a gaming competition called "The Great UK Game Off," which will culminate in a tournament at the Insomnia gaming festival this November. Players can roll up to more than 30 stores next month and take part in six challenges based around FIFA 15, Forza Motorsport 5, Super Smash Bros, Trials HD, Mario Kart 7 and LEGO Jurassic World. The top scorers in each region will be put forward for the North and South quarter finals, with the eventual winners competing for the "ultimate champion" title and a £5,000 gift card at Insomnia.

In the same way that people write words onto grains of rice, one programmer has managed to build a game with code that can fit into a single tweet. The 140-character opus is called Tiny Twitch and was created by Alex Yoder after responding to an open challenge by developer Ben Porter. Unsurprisingly, the game's not going to rival the blockbuster hits of this world, since you're simply asked to click an X as it bounces around your browser as many times as you can. If you're interested in giving this a go, it's available to play right now and let us know if you can get higher score than 17 before time runs out.

If you're reading this, chances are you're waiting for Ubisoft to shed more light on its upcoming titles: Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Tom Clancy's The Division and possibly several virtual reality games as hinted by the company last month. To get the latest sneak peek (you know you want to), feel free to tune in here at 2:45PM PT / 5:45PM ET today to watch Ubisoft's E3 conference live stream, courtesy of Twitch. Don't worry if you can't make it, though, as we've got you well covered for E3 this year. You're very welcome.

Think you have the behind-the-wheel skills to cut it as an Uber driver? Well, the transportation company has a way for you to find out: a mobile game. UberDRIVE is an iOS title that not only offers a glimpse at a day in the life of an Uber driver, but also helps improve navigation skills. Gameplay revolves around helping riders get from one point to another by taking the safest and most efficient route possible. Opting for the best route earns a higher score, and players who grab those 5-star ratings on the regular are rewarded with new cars and access to other parts of the city. Uber created the game for current drivers to work on their navigation chops, but it's also hoping that folks interested in signing up will give it a go to see what work day could be like. UberDRIVE is available nationwide, but for now, content is limited to the streets of San Francisco. That probably explains why I was so terrible at it.

Enjoy the hilarity of making silly comparisons in Mattel'sApples to Apples card game?Well, you can now play it on iOS devices too -- and not have to futz with a handful of cards. For the uninitiated, the game centers on players selecting the card from their hand that they think best describes the clue card played by the judge. The judge then selects the winner for the round. What's more, the role of judge rotates from player to player, so there's a bit of strategy involved. And yes, plenty of potential for inappropriate jokes. In addition to playing solo, you can challenge up to five friends in real time. There's also a selection of themed decks to choose from, covering topics like animals, dessert, geography and more. If you're looking to give it a shot, the game is available for iPad and iPhone via iTunes now.

When messaging a friend of family member begins to drop off, wouldn't it be good if you could fire up a game to liven things up a bit? Normally, you'd have to meet your would-be opponent in an app like Words With Friends, but new iOS keyboard HangKeys is able to skip the formalities and drop a fresh game of Hangman in any messaging app on your phone. Feel like you could use something like this during your next Facebook Messenger exchange? All you need to do is to switch to the HangKeys keyboard on your iOS device, enter a word and send the grid over to your adversary. They can then reply with their suggestions from any platform, whether it be Android, Windows Phone or PC. Luckily, the app does most of the heavy lifting but you will need to manually select each letter and send back the automatically updated grid after each turn. It's a small bit of work for what is an otherwise fun game. While nearly all of the iOS keyboards we've seen focus on making texting easier, this little app could offer some light relief if the conversation runs dry.

We've seen 3D projections on basketball courts and arena floors before, but the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning just took the game up a notch. Before the team's Eastern Conference Finals game on Tuesday, it used the playing surface to project a "Bolts of Steel" (get it, lightning bolts) game simulation inspired by the Nintendo classic Blades of Steel. We surmise they opted for another name not just for copyright purposes, but because the franchise didn't exist until 1992. While the video you'll see after the break is a render/demo, a Deadspin reader caught the thing on tape during the pregame festivities, so you can have a look at was it was like for those in attendance. Perhaps if the Bolts advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, they'll let a couple of fans duke it out for some nachos.

Evolveisn't a typical multiplayer shooter. The game pits four hunters against a quickly mutating monster, with the first task usually being to find and trap the player-controlled goliath. The experience can be a little bewildering for newcomers, so developer Turtle Rock Studios is throwing in a free Arena Mode that keeps everything simple. In a best-of-three match, the hunters and monster are dropped in a small, pre-determined dome with only one goal; take down your opponent(s). The monster starts at stage two with 50 percent armour, reducing the need to devour local wildlife, and when a hunter dies they're out until the next round. It's a bare-bones take on the Evolve formula, stripping away some of what makes the game unique. Still, if you're interested in shorter rounds where you can easily hone your combat skills, Arena Mode could be a welcome change on planet Shear.

Remember Superhot? It let you dodge bullets by controlling time à laThe Matrix, but a new VR game takes that premise even farther by making you the bullet. Drift is a game for Samsung's Gear VR, developed by a pair of programmers during the course of Oculus' Mobile VR Jam. The idea is pretty simple: after a bullet is fired from a gun, your viewpoint changes to its trajectory. Time is considerably slowed down and you can alter the bullet's path by looking left or right. You move around the bizarre orange environment past the crash test dummy-like characters until you spot your target: the green guy.

To celebrate 20 years of PlayStation, Sony created 12,300 limited edition PS4 consoles and offered them to gamers all over the world. In the US, they were sold to whoever could click the buy button fast enough, but in the UK, the company took a more convoluted approach. First was the PlayStation '94 Shop in London, where 94 consoles were put aside for the low price of £19.94 (with all proceeds going to gaming charity GamesAid). Then came a partnership with GAME, which required gamers to solve riddles, click iconic PlayStation characters and enter a competition before anyone else.

If you have creeping doubts about your golf game, there's a $500 sim that lets you swing real clubs in your house. Yep, your pets and furniture will need to make way for the OptiShot2, which gives you online play, simulated championship courses and instant practice feedback. You hook it up to a Mac or PC, download the software and swing away. The infrared sensors accurately track your swing while the simulated courses and online competition add a gaming-like fun factor. But $500 is a lot of money for a video game and sensor, so I want more than just fun; I also want to get better. Luckily, the OptiShot delivers both of those things. Slideshow-281087

Third-party sellers have become a huge part of the Amazon experience, offering customers a wide variety of products at knock-down prices. Video games are part of that equation, which is inevitably pulling business away from specialised UK retailers such as GAME. In response, the latter is launching a direct competitor today called GAME Marketplace, which gives independent merchants the chance to sell video games and other related merchandise through the GAME website. At launch, this includes clothes, smartphones, movies, comic books and a ton of other paraphernalia. Video games do feature, but they're mostly older titles and retro classics that aren't going to affect GAME's core business.

Think you're good at predicting Google's search suggestions? You now have an easy way to prove it. A new (and decidedly unofficial) Google Feud game challenges you to make Family Feud-style guesses about what comes next in Google's autocomplete box. The closer you are to the top result, the more points you get; guess outside of the top 10 and you'll get a strike. There's sadly no easy way to challenge others, but this should still be a fun way to demonstrate your search savviness to your friends.

A casual glance at the front page of Twitch or MLG is all it takes to remind you of eSports' growing popularity. Whether you're interested in League of Legends, Dota 2 or Hearthstone, it doesn't take long to find a stream where talented players are competing in ranked cups and tournaments. The professional gaming scene has grown rapidly in the last few years, and that success is slowly being reflected in the UK. The number of players and spectators has risen dramatically, and that's created new business opportunities for league organisers, game publishers and sponsors. Just like traditional sports, there's money to be made if you can get people excited about watching and following their favourite stars.

It looks like 2015 could be a big year for competitive gaming in the UK. Just weeks after we found out where the UK's first eSports arena will be located, Britain's biggest video game retailer GAME has confirmed it's getting into the tournament business. The company announced today that it's spent £20 million to acquire Multiplay, a community-driven games company that focuses on live events, gaming services and eSports.

Like it or not, selfies in games are officially a "thing" -- and they're now invading classic titles like Doom. Linguica's new InstaDoom mod lets you spin the virtual camera around to take a shot of your Doom (or Doom II) marine, complete with Instagram-like filters and the seemingly inescapable selfie stick. Yes, you can now show your friends that you've killed a Spiderdemon by striking an obnoxious pose over its body. Is this a novelty? You bet. Still, it's fun to see a decades-old shooter make a commentary on the modern obsession with narcissistic photos.

In early 2012, Retailer GAME seemed destined to join Woolworths in whatever place high-street brands go to die. Phones4u has ended up there since, but GAME was rescued from the brink of collapse and last year, made something of a triumphant return to the London Stock Exchange. New console launches helped turns thing around for the retailer in the short-term, but the reality is life's still hard on the (high-)street. Hence GAME has issued a note to investors today, warning them that despite a massive surge in sales, it's not going to make any more money than it did last year. And, that probably doesn't bode well for the future, either.

Think that Flappy Bird is already supremely aggravating to play? Try flying between those pipes when there's money on the line. Bay Tek Games has unveiled an arcade version of the game that promises to be the most masochistic cabinet ever... and we've seen quitea few. It's largely the same tough-to-control title you've come to know and love/hate, just blown up to the size of a 42-inch display. In other words, you'll likely spend more time feeding cash into this machine than you will mashing its one and only game button. We could see it being fun if you're an expert (or just need to get rid of a lot of money in a hurry), but you're probably better off playing this stand-up Flappy Bird system in very, very short bursts.

It's safe to say Goat Simulator has become a cherished part of video game culture. Now GAME is hoping to tap into some of that indie magic with a parody simulation title of its own. It's called Christmas Shopper Simulator and, well, it's a bit rubbish. The game dumps your rag-doll character in a generic British shopping centre, filled with pun-riddled shops such as "Scroungeland" and "Texas Raincoat Massacre." Sprint to the top floor and you'll even find an "Amazombie" store with the slogan "powered by a heartless algorithm." There are missions and barmy achievements to complete, but GAME knows you'll probably have more fun hurling presents at unsuspecting shoppers and generally running riot. That's why it's a free download for PC and Mac, meaning you can save your hard-earned cash for a proper video game this Christmas.

Video games are usually high action affairs, requiring a flurry of activity in order to progress to the next stage, and ultimately complete the title. A New York-based designer is out to rethink how those games are played with a trio of diminutive cubes that only allow one move per day. The project is called Slow Moves, and according to Ishac Bertran, the goal is make classics like Mario and Pong about memory, observation and patience rather than stellar hand-eye coordination and concentration.

Forget that upcoming Battlefront game for now -- the Star Wars titles that hardcore fans have really been looking for are finally here. Good Old Games has announced official re-releases of X-Wing and TIE Fighter that let you play these legendary space combat games (arguably, the best Star Wars games ever) on a modern PC without resorting to bootleg copies or hacks. They'll cost $10 each when they arrive on October 28th, and they're Special Editions that include both the CD-ROM content (SVGA graphics! Voiceovers!) as well as all the expansion packs. If you've been waiting two decades to once more recreate the Death Star trench run or blow up a Rebel frigate, your moment has come.

Update: As you may have suspected, GOG posted those game links prematurely -- they disappeared shortly after we posted our story. Come back on the 28th and they should work properly.

Whether or not you believe that Destiny lives up to all the hype, there's no doubt that it has a lot of gamers hooked. Bungie has revealed that the hybrid of shooter and online role-playing game is managing an average of 3.2 million players per day in the month since its launch -- no mean feat given that even a well-established (if subscription-based) rival like World of WarCraft has 6.8 million users. That's also more active players than the company saw during a similar period for both Halo 3 and Halo: Reach combined, so the absence of a familiar franchise clearly isn't spooking users.

Indoor cycling normally isn't as fun as the outdoor variety, and it certainly isn't as social. Where's the thrill of blowing past a rival? That's what Zwift's upcoming massively multiplayer cycling game promises to solve. So long as you have a training bike with at least speed and cadence sensors, you can race people around the world in virtual environments -- think of it as an online role-playing game that builds up your real abilities. You can chat up other riders if you have a mic, and virtual reality support (through Oculus Rift headsets) might help you forget that you're still at home.

If you've ever pined for a feature film about the beloved 80s classic Tetris, you're in luck. The Wall Street Journal reports that an adaptation of the popular game is on its way, thanks to Threshold Entertainment. While that studio may not immediately ring a bell, it's the force behind transforming Mortal Kombat into two full-length movies in 1995 and 1997. So, what can we expect? A "very big, epic sci-fi" effort that aims to be much more than a bunch of CGI blocks with arms and legs. "What you [will] see in 'Tetris' is the teeny tip of an iceberg that has intergalactic significance," Threshold CEO Larry Kasanoff tells WSJ. What's more, "location-based entertainment based on the epicness" in addition to the film itself could be in the plans, too. One thing's for sure: these folks are going to be pretty excited about the news.